While cats don’t, normally, welcome the new year as it is a time when the skies are lit by fireworks accompanied by load bangs, this year we are destined to bring in the new year with darkness – or should that be democratic ignorance thanks to one of our local councils?
Now, while they may want you to think that this is about having a more sustainable model for waste services and recycling, let us be very clear that this is, first and foremost, about saving money.
This is made quite clear in the council executive minutes of their meeting on November 26, when it says: “The Sustainable, Resilient, and Connected Places Portfolio Holder reported that the recommended operating and delivery model was expected to deliver a substantial reduction against the current revenue costs, generate income revenue, and sought to address the future anticipated transformation savings.”
What it doesn’t spell out, certainly in the bits of this that are in the public domain, is exactly how those savings are to be achieved.
Is this payback time for Allerdale-based bin collectors who defied them last summer? While the reason for holding back key information is mired in gobbledygook, this cat will bet it is because Allerdale bin emptying is still managed by an arm’s length company and this is a useful excuse for not mentioning any of the financial matters.
The rest – changes from boxes to bins in Carlisle (that will go down well in those areas with terraced houses) charging £40 for an additional garden waste bin or reducing black bin collections from weekly to fortnightly, will depend entirely on the make up of each household as one size does not fit all.
One area they appear to have overlooked, is kitchen waste. Just think of all those brussels sprout or potato trimmings, or, heaven forbid, the left over turkey.
According to Cumberland Council, everyone, should be making their own compost (again, think terraced housing) and, if not, this waste has to go into the black, general, waste bin where it will start to smell pretty quickly especially in summer while householders wait for their fortnightly bin collections.
It will also attract vermin and if you think I am responsible for sorting out the rats in the neighbourhood, you are mistaken – I am far too good looking for that!
And finally, it appears the decision to go ahead has already been taken. Yes, at the meeting of the council executive on November 26, the meeting decided to go ahead regardless of the ‘informal’ public consultation.
So, it appears that what you say in their little survey, will have no impact whatsoever.
So, here is the feline take on Cumberland Council’s proposals:
- This is, primarily, about saving money which will include job losses.
- They deliberately selected the Christmas period for the consultation because it lowers response rates
- With fortnightly collections, especially in summer, kitchen waste will need to be managed by the householder to minimise smells and vermin.
- Woe betides anyone living in a terraced house in Carlisle, Workington, Maryport or Whitehaven who leaves their wheelie bin on the street!
By all means complete their little survey before January 8 and tell them what you think and a very happy new year from The Cat.
About Cumbria Cat
Born in Cumberland and back living in Cumberland, having spent most of the past 50 years in some place called Cumbria, this cat has used up all nine lives as well as a few others.
Always happy to curl up on a friendly lap, the preference is for a local lap and not a lap that wants to descend on the county to change it into something it isn’t. After all, you might think Cumbria/Cumberland/Westmorland is a land forged by nature – the glaciers, the rivers, breaking down the volcanic rocks or the sedimentary layers – but, in reality, the Cumbria we know today was forged by generations of local people, farmers, miners, quarriers, and foresters.
This cat is a local moggy, not a Burmese, Ocicat or Persian, and although I have been around the block a few times, whenever I jump, I end up on my feet back in my home county. I am passionate about the area, its people, past, present and future, and those who come to admire what we hold dear, be it lakes and mountains, wild sea shores, vibrant communities or the history as rich and diverse as anywhere in the world.
